An elliptical machine is a fitness equipment for training a user's leg muscles with continuous stepping action. The training theory is to drive rotation of a fly wheel unit by stepping on a pair of foot pedals, so that each foot pedal moves along an elliptical path. In addition, the training difficulty is adjustable during the training process by adjusting the resistance of the fly wheel unit.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional rear-mounted suspension type elliptical machine 1 mainly includes a base seat 11, a control panel 12 mounted to a front end of the base seat 11, a fly wheel unit 13 mounted at a rear end of the base seat 11, two transmission rods 14 connected pivotally to the fly wheel unit 13, and two foot pedals 15 respectively mounted on the transmission rods 14.
Due to the location of the fly wheel unit 13, the length of the conventional rear-mounted suspension type elliptical machine 1 is relatively large. Moreover, a user is restricted to stepping onto the foot pedals 15 from two lateral sides of the seat 11, which results in inconvenient usage.
Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional front-mounted roller type elliptical machine 2 mainly includes a base seat 21, a fly wheel unit 22 mounted to a front end of the base seat 21, a control panel 23 mounted above the fly wheel unit 22, a track seat 24 mounted at a rear side of the base seat 21, and two transmission rods 25. Each of the transmission rods 25 has one end connected pivotally to the fly wheel unit 22, and an opposite end mounted slidably on the track seat 24. The conventional front-mounted roller type elliptical machine 2 further includes two pedal rods 26 connected pivotally and respectively to the transmission rods 25, and two foot pedals 27 mounted respectively on the pedal rods 26.
However, since the transmission rods 25 are slidable along the track seat 24 through rollers 28, the rollers 28 may produce noise due to friction between the rollers 28 and the track seat 24, so that the track seat 24 needs to be periodically maintained with lubricant. Furthermore, after long-term use of the conventional front-mounted roller type elliptical machine 2, dirt or grime may accumulate in the track seat 24.